Voice processing device and voice processing method

Abstract

A voice recognizing portion recognizes a voice and generates a phoneme string, and a storage portion stores a first name list indicating phoneme strings of first names and a second name list obtained by associating a phoneme string of a predetermined first name among the first names with a phoneme string of a second name similar to the phoneme string of the first name. A name specifying portion specifies a name indicated by the voice on the basis of the first name list. A checking portion selects a phoneme string of a second name corresponding to a phoneme string of the name specified by the name specifying portion by referring to the second name list when a user answers that the name specified by the name specifying portion is not the correct name.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A voice processing device comprising:
 a voice recognizing portion configured to recognize a voice and to generate a phoneme string;   a storage portion configured to store a first name list indicating phoneme strings of first names and a second name list obtained by associating a phoneme string of a predetermined first name among the first names with a phoneme string of a second name similar to the phoneme string of the first name;   a name specifying portion configured to specify a name indicated by the voice on the basis of a degree of similarity between the phoneme string of the first name and the phoneme string generated by the voice recognizing portion;   a voice synthesizing portion configured to synthesize a voice of a message; and   a checking portion configured to cause the voice synthesizing portion to synthesize a voice of a check message used to request an answer regarding whether the name specified by the name specifying portion is a correct name,   wherein the checking portion causes the voice synthesizing portion to synthesize the voice of the check message with respect to the name specified by the name specifying portion,   when a user answers that the name specified by the name specifying portion is not the correct name, a phoneme string of a second name corresponding to a phoneme string of the name specified by the name specifying portion is selected by referring to the second name list, and   the voice synthesizing portion is caused to synthesize the voice of the check message with respect to the selected second name.   
     
     
         2 . The voice processing device according to  claim 1 , wherein a phoneme string of a second name included in the second name list is a phoneme string with a possibility of causing the phoneme string of the second name to be erroneously recognized as the phoneme string of the first name higher than a predetermined possibility. 
     
     
         3 . The voice processing device according to  claim 1 , wherein a distance between the phoneme string of the second name associated with the phoneme string of the first name in the second name list and the phoneme string of the first name is shorter than a predetermined distance. 
     
     
         4 . The voice processing device according to  claim 3 , wherein the checking portion preferentially selects the second name related to a phoneme string in which the distance from the phoneme string of the first name is small. 
     
     
         5 . The voice processing device according to  claim 3 , wherein the phoneme string of the second name is obtained according to at least one of substitution of some of phonemes constituting the phoneme string of the first name with other phonemes, insertion of other phonemes, and deletion of some of the phonemes as elements of erroneous recognition of the phoneme string of the first name, and
 the distance is calculated to accumulate a cost related to the elements.   
     
     
         6 . The voice processing device according to  claim 5 , wherein the cost is set so that a value thereof decreases as a number of the elements of erroneous recognition increases. 
     
     
         7 . A voice processing method in a voice processing device including a storage portion configured to store a first name list indicating phoneme strings of first names and a second name list obtained by associating a phoneme string of a predetermined first name among the first names with a phoneme string of a second name similar to the phoneme string of the first name, wherein
 the voice process device has:   a voice recognition step of recognizing a voice and generating a phoneme string;   a name specifying step of specifying a name indicated by the voice on the basis of a degree of similarity between the phoneme string of the first name and the phoneme string generated in the voice recognition step; and   a check step of causing a voice synthesizing portion to synthesize a voice of a check message used to request an answer regarding whether the name specified in the name recognition step is a correct name, and   the check step has:   a step of causing the voice synthesizing portion to synthesize the check message with respect to the name specified in the name recognition step;   a step of selecting a phoneme string of a second name corresponding to a phoneme string of the name specified in the name recognition step by referring to the second name list when a user answers that the name specified in the name recognition step is not the correct name; and   a step of causing the voice synthesizing portion to synthesize the voice of the check message with respect to the selected second name.